crowell



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. C. GROWBLL.

FOLDING MACHINE.

N. {516,}22. 'Patented Apr. 21, 1885..

muessen Xmmom N. PETERS. Pham-Lmugraphw. wa ssssssssss c 2 Sheets-Sheet;

(N0 Model.)

L. -G-LUROWELLL.

FOLDING MAGHINE.

No.- 316,122, 'Patented Apr. 21, 1885.

'lm/e MTN UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

LUTHER c. OROWELL, OF BROOKLYN, AssrGNOR TOR.v HOE a oo., OF

. NEW YORK, N. Y.

MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 316,122, dated April21, 1885.'

Application liled February 25,1884. (No model.)

To all whom it .may concern,

Be it known that I, LUTHER C. CROWELL, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of NewYork, have invented certain-new and useful Improvements inFolding-Machines, fully described and represented inthe followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part' of thesame.

The present invention relates to a sheetfolding mechanism 'which isdesigned to operate in connection with a web printing and severingmechanism to impart two or more folds to thesuccessively-producedsheets, said folds being at right angles to each other.

It is the object of the invention to accomplish this result by the useof ordinary oscillating or rotating folding-blades operating inconnection with folding rolls or jaws and without arresting the sheetsin'their travel through the machine.

To this end the invention consists, broadly, in the combination, withtwo folding mechanisms arranged at right angles to each other,

of a sheet-feeding mechanism arranged to act.v upon the sheets afterthey have received their first and before they receive their secondfold, and cause them to move laterally in a direction at right angles totheir previous path of travel, so that what was thev side edge of thesheets at the time of the first fold becomes the leading edge at thetime of the second fold, thereby causing both folds to be made in adirection transverse to the travel of the sheet at the time they aremade, and thus making it possible to make these folds by the ordinarymechanisms named without arresting the travel of the sheet.

The invention also embraces various details of construction andcombinations of parts in the mechanisms for accomplishing this result,all of which will be hereinafter fully explained and particularlypointed out.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a mechanismembodying the presentinvention. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same, thesupporting frame-work and certain minor lparts being omitted in order tomore fully expose the principal moving parts. Figs. 3 and 4 are diagramsshowing the differ`- i' ent positions of the sheet iu its travel fromthe first to the second folding mechanism. Fig. 5 is a cross-section ofthefeed-rolls, taken upon the line .cof Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is alike viewof the same rolls, taken upon the line m a: of Fig. 4.

Referring to said drawings, it derstood that the apparatus therein shownas embodying the invention consists of two fold ing mechanisms, which,for convenience, will be hereinafter termed the primary7 and secondaryfoldingmechanisms, and an interposed sheet-feeding mechanism.

The primary folding mechanism consists of a pair of folding-rolls, 1011, and an ordinary folding or tucking blade, (not shown.) which arearranged to impart 'a fold to the sheets transversely of their line oftravel.

The secondary folding mechanism'consists of a rotating cylinder, 12,provided with a set of ordi-nary sheet-holding grippers, 9, and anordinaryy rotating oroscillating folding-blade, 8, and a pair ofco-operating folding-rolls, 13 14, which are arranged at right angles tothe primary folding mechanism, while the intermediate sheet-feedingmechanism consists of two pairs of rolls, 15 16 and 17 18, arranged atsuch an angle to the primary folding mech-l anism that the sheets, asthey leave 'said primary mechanism, will move laterally in a diagonaldirection, and be vpresented to the secondary folding mechanism in suchposition that what were their side edges as they left anism.

The spaces between the rolls 10 11 and the rolls 15 16 and between therolls 17 18 and the cylinder 12 are bridged by upper and lowerstationary guides, 19, between which the sheets are supported in theirpassage from the rolls 10 11 to the cylinder 12. These'guides aresecured to and supported by cross-bars 20, extending between'the sideframes of themachine, and pass between the rolls 15 16 and 17 18 incircumferentiall grooves 7, provided for that purpose. Only the upperset of these guides is shown in the drawings; but it is to tion of theupper set, andlies directly beneath is to be unthe primary mechanismwill become their leading edges as they enter the secondary mech-- beunderstood that the lower set is a duplicai the rolls.

it. The cylinder 12 is provided with thev usual vanced at right anglestoits path of travel as roll, 21, and series of vshort tapes 22, whichpass around said roll and the folding-roll 13,

and serve to hold the sheets in proper position upon the cylinder afterthey have been released by the grippers 9. The rolls 10 11, 15 16, and17 18, and the rolls 13 14 21, and the cylinder 12 are geared to eachother in the usual manner, and the whole are connectedin any suitablemanner, as by the shaft 23 and gears 24, so as to be driven in unison.The rolls 15 16, which are of acircumference about equal to the lengthof the sheets in their line of travel as they emerge from the rolls 1011, are not, as will be observed, complete cylinders, but are providedwith biting portions 25 26 27, the portions 2526 extending'entirelyaround the rolls, while the portions 27 extend over only about one-thirdthe circumference of The rolls 17 18 are of the-same size, and areprovided with like biting portions 28 29 30; the portions' 30, however,in this case extend over about one-half the circumference -of the rolls.The purpose of these biting portions of the feeding-rolls willnow beexplained in connection with adescription of the operation of themachine, which is as follows: As .the sheets which are to be operatedupon are advanced from the printing and severing mechanism 0r from afolding mechanism which has previously operated upon them, or as theyare fed to the machine by an attendant, they are presented in properposition to the primary folding mechanism of the present machine, andlare folded transversely between the rolls 10 11. As the successivesheets emerge from between these rolls and are advanced between theguides 19, the rolls 15 16 will be in such position that their bitingportions 27 will not be in contact, so that the advance corners of thesheets. may be projected between said rolls, as shown in Fig. 3, withoutbeing grasped thereby. -The parts are so timed, however, that .just aseach sheet passes out of the control of .the rolls 10 11 the portions 27of the rolls 15 .16 will come together so as to grasp the sheet, asshown in Fig. 5, and cause it to change its direction of travel andadvance inalateral diagonal direction, as indicated by the dotted linesin Fig. 3. At or about the same time the sheet is grasped by the bitingportions of the rolls 15 16 its leading corner is also grasped by theportions 30 of the rolls 17 18, as shown in Fig. 5, so that it willcontinue to ybe advanced in its diagonal path of travel, as indicated bythe dotted lines in Fig. 4, until Iits edge iA, which was its sideedgeas it emerged from bet'ween the rolls 10 11, is in position 'to betaken bythe grippers of the cyl- .inder 12, as shown in Fig. 4. Theparts are 'so timed that as soon as the sheet arrives in -this positionand is taken-by the grippers 4vof thecylinder '-12 the biting portions27 30 of the rolls .15 .16- and 17 18 will pass-out of contact, asshownin Fig. r6, so that the sheet will f -pass out of the control ofthefeeding-rollsand into the control of the cylinder 12, and beadit leftthe primaryffolding mechanism. As the sheet is carried around upon thesurface of the cylinder 12 it will, at the proper point, be released bythe grippers 9 and folded between the rolls 13 14 by the blade 8, thusreceiving a second fold transversely to itsline of travel, but at rightangles to the first fold. It will thus be seen that by the use ofordinary oscillating or rotating folding-blades two folds at rightangles to each other are imparted to the sheet without arresting it inits travel through the machine. After leaving the rolls 13 14 the sheetsmay pass to any suitable mechanism to be flown, or further folded andflown, as may be desired.

If desired, a third folding mechanism and a second feeding mechanism,similar to the rolls 15 16 17 18, may be added, so that the sheets maybe given a third fold, parallel to the first. v

If in any case it should berdesired that the .iirst fold given to thesheets should be a longitudinal instead of a transverse fold, the sheetsmay bedirected in an unfolded condition to the feeding-rolls 15 16, andthus re ceive theirrst fold from whatis herein termed the secondarymechanism,7 and in this case the sheets may pass from the'secondarymechanism directly to the piling mechanism'or to a feeding mechanismsimilar to the rolls 15- IOO ating oscillating folding-blade; or theprimary mechanism may consist of a pair of foldingrolls and aco-operating rotating folding-blade; .or either or both of saidmechanisms may consist of a rotating or oscillating folding-blade and(3o-operating folding-jaws.

It is not necessary that the primary and secondary folding mechanismsshould be placed .in such close proximity to the feeding-rolls 15 16 and17 18 as shown in the present case. They maybe located at any desireddistance therefrom,the sheets being advanced from the primary mechanismto the feeding-rolls and from said rolls to the secondary mechanism byany suitable form of sheet-feeding mechanism. The feeding mechanism forcausing the sheets to take a lateral diagonal direction may also .belconsiderably modified from that shown without departingfrom theinvention. 'Instead of two pairs of feeding-rolls, as 15 16 and-17 18, asingle pair may in some cases be employed; or when two pairs areemployed they may be` placed at a greater distance from eachother thanthat shown in the present case, and, if desired, the upper and lowerrolls IIO of the pairs. may be provided with feeding'- 316,122 .o j v I,

shown, a number of pulleys mounted on suitable shafts may be employed toeffect the feeding of the sheets.

1. The combination,with two folding mechanisms arranged at right anglesto each other,

of an interposed sheetfeeding mechanism arranged to cause the sheets totake a lateral diagonal path of travel in passing from the first to thesecond mechanism, al1 substantially as described.

2. rlhe combination, with mechanisms arranged to impart two folds to asheet, said folds being at right angles to each other, of means forcausing the sheet to take a lateral diagonal path of travel afterreceiving its first and before receiving its second fold, allsubstantially as described.

'3. The combination,with mechanism,as the rolls l1, for advancing asheet in one direction, of mechanism, as the cylinder 12, foradvancingit in a direction at right angles to the first direction, andmechanism, as the rolls 16 and 17 18, for advancing the sheet in alateral diagonal direction from the first to the second of thesemechanisms, all substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a sheet -folding mechanism, of a sheet-feedingmechanism arranged to advance the sheets in a lateral diagonal directionto present them to said folding mechanism, all substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination, with a pair of rolls, as 10 ll, of a pair of rolls,as 15 16, arranged at an angle thereto, and provided with bitingportions, as 26 27, and means for'directing the sheets from the firstpair of rolls to the second pair, all substantially as described.

6. rlhe combination, with the rolls 10 11, 0f the rolls 15 16 and 17 18,arranged at an angle thereto, and provided with biting portions, as 2526 27 and 28 29 30, and the guides 19, substantially as described. A,

:In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

LUTHER C. OROWELL. Witnesses:

J. A. HOVEY,

T. H. PALMER..

